My Foxy Visitor
by TheGingeryOne
Summary: It was really rather sad that an evil fox was the only thing willing to help Sugawara.


My Foxy Visitor

05/05/2012

The fog may have lifted from Sei-an, but that seemingly had no effect on the aching body of Sugawara. He had been ill before the fog began, though whether it was from an infection, age or sheer stress was unknown. At least one of the very few visitors to his home tried to exorcise him of demons.

Now, while the sun was shining outside and the cherry blossoms had finally come back to life, Sugawara lay alone in his garden. Admittedly, he didn't really _want_ to be laying in his garden- his gold hair was getting tarnished with dirt and these were the most uncomfortable nightclothes he currently owned but the two 'aides' were busying themselves with meeting the politicians treasure horde. Alternatively, they had thrown caution to the wind and just decided to invade his sake stash after leaving him outside.

Either way, he had fallen onto his back after the first hour, too tired to call for help. At least the ground was dry.

Sighing, Sugawara closed his eyes.

And then there was a rustle, and yelping, and a bundle of raggedy fur crashed into his life head first. Gasping in shock and from whatever trauma the creature had invested on his lungs, Sugawara shot up to meet a single eye.

He had to admit that he, along with maybe two or three other people in the city, was well aware that Priestess Rao was no longer alive. He was also aware that Queen Himiko's life would be forfeit to the creature in front of him at some point. It was why he was beginning to come under so much stress.

Nonetheless, it was a surprise to see the tired old form of Ninetails shaking itself out in his garden, a little unsteady on its paws for whatever reason. The fur was no longer the stunning pale gold it usually used- instead, it had turned to a dirty auburn. Ninetails' teeth were bloodstained, half a mouse dangling from its mouth.

Sugawara groaned softly, catching the creature's attention. Its ears pricked towards him, a swaying trot taking the place of the usually dainty steps it was capable of.

Offly, it entered the politician's mind that perhaps he should move. That glaive was not to be trifled with.

Less than ten seconds later, Sugawara was breathless and on his back, with his pale throat exposed to it of the pointy teeth and temperamental nature. Well, looked like someone else would be taking over his role once Himiko died... at least he'd have a recently familiar face to talk to in death.

The fox loomed over him. It did nothing. Its ears moved slightly, and occasionally the single eye blinked, but it simply sat near Sugawara without so much as a growl. Five minutes passed and there was nothing but wind.

Sugawara sighed again. There was a point when the day became too exhausting to keep giving a damn. "Hello Ninetails." He mumbled, "Have you come to fetch something for your master?"

Those ears twitched towards him, and the fox moved. Suddenly, said ears and furry face very close to his.

And then its teeth clamped around some of the fabric, pulling back even on the unsteady paws until Sugawara was at least in something that could technically be called standing. The fox's body had formed a barrier around his legs, as if it didn't want him to fall. The politician was still shaking. Without thinking, he leant onto Ninetails, using it as a crutch.

The fox, to its credit, didn't seem to mind. Slowly but surely, the unlikely pair made their way towards his house, never faltering or saying a word.

The distinct smell of sake hit them in the face before they even came close to the door. Laughter and slurred speech made up the new soundtrack of his house, and Sugawara was fairly certain that when he looked inside he would promptly become a spirit of great vengence.

"Heh...Ol' Suga's got one heck of a collection, ain't he?" One aide chortled, taking a swig of an expensive drink. "Man...we could use this as blackmail against him."

"Good...Good one." The other hiccuped, grinning. "Think of the money these nobles would pay..."

The doors opened, revealing the politician and the fox. It was growling at the pair of aides when it noticed exactly _what_ they had been drinking, and lunged.

"Whoa!"

"Keep that thing under control!"

In reality, he probably should have done something to prevent whatever intense mental scarring Ninetails had inflicted upon them in its own miniature cursed zone, but... Eh, he'd say he was too ill to move. Sitting down somewhere comfortable certainly helped. The aides, upon release, never returned to Western Nippon let alone Sugawara's home.

The fox trotted over to him, resting its head in his lap and blinking curiously upwards. With a smirk that honestly belonged on Ninetails' face, he scratched its furry coat. "You know," Sugawara commented, reaching for the abandoned drink, "it took me three hours of negotiating to get at this. I'm hardly surprised your ally considers it 'his favourite tipple'." It was actually rather soothing to sit and stroke the demon, whose eye was slowly closing with the rhythmic stroking. "Shall I tell you something Ninetails? Outside of Waka, you're the only sentient being to visit who is not on my payroll."

It yawned and shifted so it curled over his chest, paws moved to its face. On closer note they appeared to be bleeding. Something shiny was wedged in there.

"...This is probably going to hurt a bit." He murmured to the creature, before grasping the shard and quickly wrenching it out. Ninetails yelped. "I was expecting you to bite me."

The tail twitched irritably and brushed his face. Sugawara laughed, continuing his idle stroking, waiting for sleep to come...

Incidentally, the moment Sugawara realised _something_ had gone horribly, horribly wrong in his political career was the morning after, when said fox was invited for a drink.

But at least he'd had someone to talk to.

Even if that someone died a week later.

_A/N: I have no idea what I just wrote or why it seems so OOC to me. I just want to touch Ninetails' ears...and Ammy's ears. Twitchy animations are cute. _


End file.
